NYC transit negotiations go on as contract expires

Associated PressIn this Dec. 22, 2005 file photo, a striking Transport Workers Union member pickets outside State Supreme Court in Brooklyn. This time around, workers say they'll continue working, even though their contract has expired.

NEW YORK -- New York City transit workers say they'll continue working even though their contract has expired.

Spokesman Jim Gannon of Transport Workers Union Local 100 said negotiations with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority continued today with talks centering on station workers. The contract expired at midnight.

Negotiators working on the main contract issues will resume talks tomorrow.

The two sides are trying to find common ground for a new three-year collective bargaining agreement covering subway and bus workers.

The union is demanding raises to counter the rising cost of living. The MTA is trying to holding to hold down payroll costs as part of statewide budget cuts.

Past contract negotiations have sometimes turned ugly. In December 2005 transit workers struck for three days and stranded millions of commuters.